Fishing Out a World War II Tank from a Lake.

1. John Do
   September 19th, 2006 at 3:26 am

   I don’t know much about tanks or WWI, but the symbol on the tank’s turret definitely is that of the German Reich, and not the USSR.

2. Aleki
   September 19th, 2006 at 4:08 am

   Actually it is German. It’s a version of the iron cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. It appeared on German planes and tanks during World War II.
   It’s also referred to as the “Black Cross” It was primarily used on wings and fuselage as well as the “Hakenkreuz” (swastika)
   The Black Iron cross is not a Nazi symbol though. It’s German and is still used today. The traditional black Iron Cross and can be found on all armoured vehicles, tanks, naval vessels, & planes Although the medal (Germany’s highest honor) is only awarded during war time.
   As the article says, it was a Russian tank converted to a German.

3. dead_red_eyes
   September 19th, 2006 at 12:01 pm

   Wow … that’s crazy that it’s in such a good condition.

4. pld
   September 19th, 2006 at 12:23 pm

   It *is* a Soviet tank, just captured by the Wehrmacht and, efficient as the germans are considered to be, put into good use.

   I’m Estonian myself, and I believe it’s not the only wartime vehicle that has been pulled out from swamps near the area of the most vicious battles, in the northeastern part of the country. I’m pretty sure they fixed one tank up completely, so that it actually had a working engine and was perfectly maneuverable. Notice that the article linked here is six years old, so it might very well have been the same one.

   BTW, the name is Mätasjärv, but that’s just nitpicking.

5. Alex
   September 20th, 2006 at 12:40 am

   I wonder why it wasn’t fully rusted - must be buried in mud at the bottom of the lake.

6. Indrek
   September 20th, 2006 at 1:58 pm

   How the hell did they *find* it underneath 3 metres of peat?

7. Tim
   September 21st, 2006 at 11:01 pm

   Wow, wish i were there when it was pulled out.

8. Brian
   November 5th, 2006 at 4:35 pm

   Wow no rust Could of been captured and was field tested by the Nazis like captured allied air craft.

9. Rodney
   December 24th, 2006 at 2:08 am

   Most likely the lake is fresh water and steel and iron, even wood can survive for over a 100 years underneath fresh water. Look at all the ship wreck under the Great Lakes they are still in good shape. I wonder if they found any artifacts inside, maybe even live shells.

10. Skip
    January 15th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

    Actually, it was buried under 3 meters of peat which kept it in an anaerobic state. With the oxygen away from it as well as the cold water, it was pefectly preserved.
    There were a LOT of live shells still inside, also stable and preserved. All the mechanical systems except the engine functioned after simply being cleaned. The engine was actually repaired and the tank made to move under its own power with surprisingly little work.

11. Lenore Gajda
    January 18th, 2007 at 10:20 am

    Very interesting! What an amazing part of history. Makes you think what else could be out there….

12. John Bargh
    July 22nd, 2007 at 1:11 pm

    Thats really amazing! Were there any artifacts like a radio or the crews personal guns or anything like that?please email me back

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